Rabbuck
The Rabbuck '(''Ungulagus) is a genus of mammal descendant of rabbits, which has taken the ecological niche of ungulates after their extinction. Evolution of Rabbucks Before and during our age, the age of man, the ungulates were the primary herbivores over the majority of the planet. Most where lightly built, and adapted to be running animals, able to outrun predators which had teeth evolved to crop leaves and grasses. Multiple ungulates where domesticated by man. The cows for milk and meat, the sheep bred for wool, and the skins of many kinds were used for leather. Oxen were harnessed to pull and do tough work man couldn't, and became the classic beasts of burden. When man disappeared, these animals went with him. Wild ungulates, like deer, fared better. Most woodlands where destroyed for man's cities and agricultural land. This led to the extinction of the deer, and a vacant niche. By 50 million years after man, the hoofed mammals were all but gone, on the brink of extinction. What, if anything, could take their place? The niche was vacant, with nothing to take it. But something did. The rabbit was considered by man to be a pest. A small-scale grazer that was so successful that it couldn't go extinct. The rabbit was extremely destructive of man's farmland, man made attempt after attempt to control it and exterminate it. But no matter what actions we took we couldn't succeed in dominance. After man's disappearance, the rabbit's became very successful indeed. Versatility along with quick breeding cycles opened the gate to develop successfully into a number of separate forms. The most successful: the rabbucks.Ungulagus spp., now occupies the niche left by the ungulates. At first, the rabbuck changed little from its rabbit ancestors excepting for size and a longer neck. In an environment devoid of large, hoofed grazing and browsing animals, it was left with competitors and quickly evolved to replace them. The more basal rabbucks, Macrolagus spp., retained the hopping gait of their forebears and developed strong hind legs for leaping, as there was no need for otherwise at their size and niche. However, although jumping was ideal for quickly covering the open plains, their original habitat, it was not well for the confined spaces of the forest, and more fundamental changes had to occur. Several species of these earlier forms still exist, but their place was largely taken by running rabbucks that more closely resemble the deer of today. The second major development took place some ten million years later. On top of developing into larger sizes, they began to evolve the typical small ungulate leg and gait; like that of a gazelle of deer. The odd hind limbs and more generalized forelimbs of their ancestors grew into long running legs, and the feet had major developments. The first and fifth digits became vestigial, and the second and third ones grew into hoofs, strong enough to bear the animal's weight. This was a highly generalized form and this led to the replacement the leaping forms. The rabbuck then became so successful that it is found in a wide variety of places throughout the northern hemisphere - from the tundra and coniferous forests of the far north to the deserts and rain forests further south. Originating in the temperate woodlands, they spread outwards, around the mountains, into the African and Indian sub-continents, where they flourished and competed so effectively with the remaining ungulates. Species of Rabbuck '''Common Rabbuck (Ungulagus silvicultrix): A basal forest-dwelling form of northern latitudes of ancestry, and the archetypal species''.'' It grows to around two meters (6-7ft) high and has a coat which is similar to modern deer. They are generally found in small herds of about a dozen individuals. Arctic Rabbuck (Ungulagus hirsutus): It has a shaggy coat which chnages colour between seasons. Heavily built with layers of insulating fat, Arctic Rabbuck are found in far north, at the northern tip of the Europe, Asia, and North America. Desert Rabbuck (Ungulagus flavus): A gracile creature with long ears and a thin, sandy coat, the Desert Rabbuck stands no more than 1.2 meters (4ft) high at the shoulder. It is found in the deserts of the world. Mountain rabbuck (Ungulagus scandens): This small, and less common of rabbuck species and is found along the western mountain ranges of the Northern Continent. It is adapted to live on a meagre diet of poor grasses and herbs. Tropical rabbucks tend to be similar to their temperate cousins, but are on the whole lighter in build and have longer legs and ears. Their coloration is very different, consisting mostly of pale brown and white arranged in stripes or spots depending on the species: Strank (Ungulagus virgatus): It has a dazzling pattern of stripes like the extinct zebra. The strank's stripes produce a confused impression from a distance. Watoo (Ungulagus cento): It's larger than the strank, and carries large angular blotches similar to those once possessed by the giraffe. Such patterns make individuals merge into one another so that a distant predator gets only a confused impression of the herd as a whole. It is particularly effective in thorn thickets and areas of scrubby woodland. All rabbucks, whether temperate or tropical, retain the dazzling white tail of their rabbit ancestors. It is used as a warning signal when the herd is attacked. Picktooth (Dolabrodon fossor): It feeds on low-growing herbs and roots, which it digs up with its tusks and spurs. Its second incisor teeth are developed into strong laterally directed tusks and it has long spur-like claws on the fourth digit of each forefoot. As it runs only on the second and third toes of each foot, the spurs do not hinder it.